Wild Card Round: By Hook, Not By Crook

The Arizona Wranglers stole an overtime win and the Shreveport Steamer shut down league MVP candidate Agustin Crook during the USFL/WFL's 1977 wild card playoff games Thursday.

Arizona Wranglers 17, Oakland Invaders 14, OT

Quincy White, RB, Arizona

On the second play of Oakland's first possession in overtime, Arizona was penalized for defensive overuse. BUT, on that same play, Oakland's Jason Brooks fumbled and Arizona SS Thomas Koenig recovered at the Invaders' 17-yard line. Arizona's Anthony Schaefer kicked a 36-yard field goal on the next play, and the Wranglers pulled out a 17-14 win.

Arizona QB Jerry Montalvo, playing on an injured knee, still managed to complete 22 of 35 passes for 298 yards and two TDs. The second, an 89-yard catch-and-run by RB Quincy White, tied the score at 14 with 3:57 to play. Wranglers CB Albert Welsh contributed 10 tackles and a sack. The teams had split their two meetings during the regular season.

Oklahoma Outlaws 20, Cleveland Thunderbolts 5

Defense ruled the day as Oklahoma won the first playoff game in its franchise history. The QBRs from this game: Dale Brown (OKL) 65.63; Chester Dougherty (CLE) 67.08; Brandon Robertson (CLE) 12.92.

The Outlaws scored two TDs via Brown's 4-yard pass to Jimmy Howe and Patrick Hiebert's 3-yard run. The Oklahoma defense forced a pair of fumbles and intercepted a pass. Cleveland's rookie sensation, DT Jim Zarate, had two sacks.

New Jersey Generals 20, Pittsburgh Maulers 10

New Jersey QBs Steven Labelle and Doug Fluty both threw a TD pass as the Generals won for the ninth time in their last 10 games.

Labelle's 2-yard TD pass to Leroy Selmon with 4:40 to play extended a 13-10 New Jersey lead to 20-10. Pittsburgh turned the ball over on downs with 2:25 to go and the Generals ran out the clock. New Jersey MLB Jim LeClair had eight tackles.

Shreveport Steamer 21, Birmingham Stallions 12

The Shreveport defense was all over Crook, who experienced one of the worst days of his storied career. He was 30-for-52 passing, was sacked three times and picked off three times (47.84 QBR).

Steamer SS Thomas Rainey had two of those interceptions and CB Russell Colbert was credited with 10 tackles. QB Robert Murphy fired three TD passes to three different receivers.

Divisional Round Preview

The Detroit Wheels will see if they can carry their undefeated regular season into postseason success when they host the Oklahoma Outlaws. Detroit leads the series, 3-0, including a 34-20 victory in Week 4 this season.
Arizona will see if hobbled QB Jerry Montalvo can carry them to another victory after outlasting Oakland in overtime in the franchise's first-ever playoff game. The opponent Saturday will be the Los Angeles Express, who hold a 2-0 series lead, including a 27-23 victory in Week 5. Montalvo's knee is at 44 percent.
The Tampa Bay Bandits, who host New Jersey, were 15-1 during the regular season. They were also 15-1 last season before being stunned by the New Orleans VooDoo in the divisional round. Tampa Bay won its only previous meeting with the Generals, 23-22, in the 1976 regular season finale.
The New York Stars will see if they can inflict any damage on a Shreveport Steamer defense that shut down Birmingham star Agustin Crook during the first round. Shreveport is 2-0 against the Stars, winning a 5-0 thriller in 1974 and 21-13 in 1975.